


First-Aid

by Drindalis



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Birthday Party, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Anxiety, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 11:23:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13234656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drindalis/pseuds/Drindalis
Summary: It's Eddie's birthday, and Richie has been sent to deliver his present and help sneak him out of his house to the party the Losers were throwing at Mike's house.The gift alone is enough to bring Eddie to tears.





	First-Aid

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pretty_chuckalicious](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretty_chuckalicious/gifts).



> Hello all! This is my part of a fic trade for pretty_chuckalicious, go check out the beautiful fic she wrote for me! I hope you enjoy this and sorry again it took me so long to get it finished! *^*

It was Eddie's birthday and nothing was going according plan.

Richie pedaled quickly down Main Street, his bike wobbling dangerously from the force at which he pumped his skinny legs, glancing over his shoulder frantically as he heard the familiar roar of Belch's car racing after him.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck...!" He swore in a continuous litany as the blue sports car advanced upon him, backpack bouncing on his shoulders as he swerved up over the curb, weaving in between people and earning several angry yells as he did so. He couldn't let the Bowers Gang catch up with him, not today, not when Eddie's birthday present was securely stashed in his backpack.

That was his part of 'Operation: Kaspbrak's Birthday Bash' as named by Beverly one night behind the bleachers at a football game. Eddie was going to be turning fourteen, it was a big deal for a kid. Just an average sleepover wouldn't do. Bev was in charge of music, Ben was bringing decorations, Bill and Stan were in charge of snacks, and Mike was in charge of the location, his grandfather's farmhouse. 

Richie? His job was the present. 

Six kids in 1988 didn't have the money individually for anything really special, so it had been Stan's idea for them to pool their allowances and buy the perfect gift for Eddie. Stashed inside Richie's backpack was a fully stocked homemade first aid kit, with Eddie's name printed neatly on the front.

Of course it was only Richie's luck that he'd happened to run into Victor Criss while picking up one of the last items at the pharmacy, and of course he hadn't been able to hold himself back from offering to show him where they kept their condoms so that no more little Bowers' ended up running around. Obviously sensitive about the topic, Victor had attempted to punch him in the face and then unfairly turned out to have been there with Henry and Belch, meaning they had their damn car with them.

Richie booked it out the back door, picked his bike up from the ground of the alley, and pedaled towards Eddie's house like his life depended on it, which depending on how upset the Bowers Gang was, could very well be true.

He almost made it uninjured and probably would have if not for some child three houses down having left their toys scattered across the sidewalk. Richie tried to brake but couldn't avoid all of them, and went over the handlebars with a shout of surprise. He hit the ground hard, skidding across the cement sidewalk for a good foot before the pain seemed to catch up with him.

"Aw, shit." he hissed, raising his hands up to see his palms were bleeding lightly and his knees were skinned yet again. He heard the noise of that twice damned car again down the street and quickly got to his feet, running alongside his bike before he ditched it in Eddie's front yard. 

Even with his knees janked up and his hands stinging, Richie easily scaled the tree in Eddie's backyard, the low hanging one with a branch heavy enough to support his weight. He shuffled out far enough that he was above Eddie's roof, backpack hanging from his shoulders and leaving a gap between his shoulder blades and the bag, before he dropped down onto the Kaspbrak's house with a muffed 'thud.' 

Richie darted over to the familiar window, glancing at the slightly scuffed paint on one side of the windowsill, caused when he had snuck in on a rainy night and slipped, leaving a track that wouldn't come off no matter how hard he picked and scratched at it with his thumbnail.

He knocked once, bit his lip and noticed he had left a smear of blood against the glass. He licked his thumb and swiped it across the window to try and remove it, but it just left a slightly pink smudge that he was sure Eddie would cuss him out for later.

Soon enough, Richie watched as Eddie raced up the stairs, calling something over his shoulder before he shut the door to his room and darted over to the window and quickly undoing the latches. 

"Mom's onto us, I think, she kept saying tonight we should watch a movie together, have some mother-son bonding time, so we don't have much...wait, what the hell happened to you?" Those soft brown eyes that Richie loved so much looked up at him worriedly, hands finding his own scuffed palms and biting his lip. "You're bleeding! Are you okay?" He glanced down at Richie's knees and tugged him wordlessly over to the bed, forcing him to sit down. "Okay, um, I'm gonna have to sneak back downstairs to grab the first aid kit to patch this all up..."

Richie reached up to sheepishly rub the back of his head only for Eddie to catch his wrist in his hand before he could get more blood everywhere. "Richie, damn it-"

"It's no big deal, Eds, your present is in my bag, just open it up and let's head out, I think Bowers is gone now-"

Eddie shot him a look of disbelief but reached over to tug the dirty black backpack, the same one Richie'd carried with him to school every day since the first grade. He blinking as he unzipped it and stared down at a white plastic box with 'Eddie Kaspbrak' neatly written across it in bold letters.

Eddie furrowed his brow in confusion before glancing up at him, giving a small bewildered smile. "Thanks, Richie, but I've already got like four of these...?"

Richie gestured to it vaguely, seeming almost embarrassed as he fidgeted on the bed. "Just open it, Eds. The others and I, we all pooled our money...sorry, i-it's not much..."

Eddie frowned, tilting his head somewhat to the side before his curiosity got the better of him and he was opening it.

Inside the first aid kit were several items, the first being a note written in several different colors.

In loopy font and the boldest red: 

_Happy Birthday, Eddie! We know that things have been tough between you and your mom after the whole gazebos thing, so we decided to make this first aid kit just for you! <3 U EDS! _

_~Bev_

In straight and even strokes, deliberate and sure in the deepest ocean blue: 

_We know we can't always be there in person because your mom shuts us out or locks you in, so we came up with this kit for whenever you're feeling down and can't get to us. Each of the 'Losers' put something in or else pitched in money where we could, hope you like it!_

_-Bill_

In thick and sure writing, the letters bold and heavy even scrawled in sunny yellow:

_**I read that sometimes spending time with animals can help you when you're feeling down, so I got my grandad's permission to invite you over whenever you want!** _

_**-Mike** _

In broad, small, scrunched in letters marked in emerald green:

_I found this old medical textbook at the library's annual book sale real cheap! I know you said you want to become a doctor even though your mom is worried you'll get sick working at a hospital, so I thought you'd like to study a little in secret! :)_

_-BeN_

In elegant and deliberate script and written in steely grey:

_Eddie, I've included a list of grounding techniques for when your anxiety gets ahold of you. I hope it helps! I know first hand how bad it can get sometimes, and some of these work well for me._

_-Stanley_

In slanted, uneven and sloppy printing that looked rushed (like the autograph of a movie star some might argue) and written in vivid purple ink:

_SPaGhEtTi mAN!! HaPPY fuckiN birtHday, dUDE! I mAde you a Bomb aSS mixTapE, it 's loADed to the tiTties wiTh the bEst Songs eVer. StUff that wE ALL lisTEn tO so yoU donT fEEl alONe eveN whEN we 'Re noT THere!!! ;)_

_-ROck oN , EdS!!!!!!!  
RICHIE  >:}_

Eddie's eyes widened as he looked down closer at the rest of the kit and found the aforementioned medical textbook, still shiny and new, likely just replaced with a newer edition. Under that was a few pages written in neat and flowing script; Stan's handwriting. Probably those grounding techniques. 

Richie was halfway to simply falling off the bed from the force of his nervous bouncing, seeming unsure about whether he should say anything. His usual nature won out, and he was stammering awkwardly. "S-Sorry, there's not actually any medical stuff in there, I-I, I mean, we, we all thought that maybe this would help with your anxiety and after the whole pills being fake and stuff thing, we thought you'd maybe like to have a reminder that, y'know, you've still got us, still got friends, even if your mom won't let you see us all the time-"

Eddie's gaze dropped back onto the box, spying a key on a lanyard with a small note taped to it. He reached in with trembling hands to unfold it, scanning over it quickly.

_Eddie! My aunt says she doesn't mind if you want to stay at our place whenever you need to! This key is for you! Come whenever and stay for however long you want! ;) Love you hun! ~Bev <3 _

Eddie bit his lip as he spotted a new notebook and some colored pencils, with a note from Mike explaining that art was supposed to be relaxing. Under that was the mixtape, the words 'EDDie mY LoVE' written on it in pink. Under that, a smaller notebook with little notes from each of the Losers, telling him how much they cared about him. Eddie swallowed thickly, feeling his eyes begin to sting with the telltale sign of tears.

Richie swore lightly and got to his feet, biting his lip hesitantly and keeping his hands awkwardly about three inches away from Eddie, realizing he wouldn't want to get the drying blood on him. "Shit, Eds, I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea, I should never have suggested it to the others, I didn't mean to make you upset or anything-!"

Eddie set each item back into the box delicately, very gently while he turned to Richie, an unreadable expression on his face.

Richie felt disappointment coarse through him. He had been hoping that this would have been taken as a kind gesture, not meant to be a tease or reminder that Eddie's mom was overprotective. It seemed he had miscalculated. 

"Richie," Eddie breathed, lips tugging upwards into a soft and genuine smile as he stepped forward to pull the taller boy into a hug, "Thank you."

Richie blinked for a moment in surprise that relaxed into happiness, before he gave in to his desire to return the embrace. "Oh, Jesus, Spaghetti Man, you had me worried for a minute there! I thought my master plan had failed for a second there."

Eddie snorted and shook his head, a smirk darting to his lips. "Your master plan? This looks like a team effort to me, Richie." he teased for a moment, before he bit his lip and his tone softened. "But, for real...thanks, for this. I really appreciate it. A lot."

Richie grinned easily, putting his hands on his hips in a triumphant pose and leaning back against the dresser. "Knew it. Now, let's say we skedaddle to Mike's place before your mom hears us and has a fuckin' conniption. Also you can use his first aid kit, I got little bits of asphalt in the scrapes on my knees when I climbed onto the roof-"

Eddie scrunched up his nose in a combination of frustration and exasperated disgust even as he swatted Richie's shoulder to get him to start climbing out the window. "I honestly don't know how you're still alive right now."

Richie snorted as he scooted on his butt down the roof to the drainpipe, sliding down it for a second and then dropping the rest of the way to land in a crouch on the back lawn. He squinted and glanced up at Eddie with a grin as the smaller boy irritably slid down the roof to land a bit short, right in the bushes. Richie couldn't hold back a laugh even as he helped Eddie up and dusted leaves off his shoulders.

"Says the kid who just got fist fucked by gravity."

Eddie smacked Richie's arm with a huff of annoyance even as he began to smirk against his will. "You're fucking gross, now hurry up, you're spreading your AIDS blood all over my front lawn!"

Richie gave a loud hoot of laughter as he picked up his bike from where it laid on the ground, Eddie following suit beside him. "Oh, _don't worry,_ Eds, you've already got my AIDS blood all over your back from that bro hug you initiated back in your room."

Eddie nearly unbalanced himself on his bike from the force of how quickly he turned to try and look over his own shoulder. "Damn it, Richie, you're such a turd!" he retorted, pedaling ahead of him. "'Happy Birthday, Eds! My gift to you is an incurable disease! Have a nice day!'" Eddie parroted in a passable impression of the Trashmouth riding behind him, shooting him a smirk.

Richie howled with laughter, rolling his eyes as his giggles caused his bike to wobble dangerously for a moment. "Aaaaand Eddie 'Spaghetti' Kaspbrak grows some balls for his fourteenth birthday ladies and gentlemen, and starts the day off right by Getting Off A Good One! Yowza yowza yowza!"

Eddie began to slow and Richie slowly sped up so that they were riding side by side, Mike's farm approaching in the distance. "Beep beep, Richie." he murmured with a fond smile, looking over at his best friend. Richie looked back with an easy grin, his expression relaxing.

"By the way...happy birthday for real, Eddie Spaghetti."


End file.
